The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1887-05-05
HONEST THRIFT.
The Theme of DR.. Talmage's Sunday
Morning Sermon.


He Shall stand Before Kings"-A Good
Time Coming for Women Workers.
BROOKLYN, April 24.-At the Taber-
nacle this morning. the pastor, Rev. I. De
Witt Ialmage, d. D., read from the BOOK
of Proverbs some lessons about honest
thrift. He then gave out the hymn be-
ginning:
This day the noise of battle,
The next the victor 8 song.
The boy choir chanted an opening and
closing selection. DR.. Talmage's discourse
was entitled: Behind the Counter; or,
Trials and Encouragements of Statesmen
and Saleswomen." He took the two fol-
lowing passages as his text: "And GER
tain woman named Lydia, seller of
purple, of the city of Thyatira, which
worshiped God, heard us; whose heart the
Lord opened. Acts xvi. IA. "Seest thou
a man diligent in his business, he shall
stand before kings. ."-Proverbs xii ~.
The preacher said:
The first passage introduces Ioyou Lydia,
q Christian merchantress. Her business IS
to deal in purple cloths or silks. She ls
not giggling nonenity, but practical
woman, not ashamed to work for her living.
All the other women of Philippl and Thy
atira have been forgotten, but God has
made immortal in our text Lydia, the
Christian saleswoman.
The other text shows you man with head
and hand and heart and foot all busy toll
ing on up until he gains princely success.
aSeest thou man diligent in business, he
shall stand before kings" Great en-
couragement in these two passages Tor
men and women who will be busy, but no
solace for those who are waiting for good
luck to show them, ct the foot Of the rain
bow, a casket of buried COLA. 1t is folly
for anybody in this world to wait for some-
thing to turn up. II will turn down. The
law of thrift is as inexorable rs the law of
tides. Fortune the magician, may wave
her arm in that direction until castles and
palaces come, but she will, after while,
invert the same wand, and all the splendors
will vanish into thin air. There are cer-
tain yles OF behavior which lead to use
fulness, honor, and permanent success,
anl there are certain styles OF behavior
which lead to dust, dishonor, and moral de-
fau.t. | would like to fire the ambition of
Young people. | have no sympathy with
those who would prepare young folks for
life by whiting down their expectations.
That man or woman will be worth nothing
to church or state who begins life cowed
down. The business of Christianity is
not to quench but to direct human ambi-
ton. Therefore it is that l come out this
morning and utter words of encourage
ment to those who are occupied as clerks
in houses of the country. You say: "Why
select one class, and talk to one specially
this morning." For the same reason that
a surgeon does not open the door of
hospital and throw in bushel of pre-
scriptions, saying; "Come, now, and get
your medicine" He first feels the pulse,
watches the symptoms, anI then pre-
scribes for that particular case. SO to-day
/ must be specific. The people in this
audience who are clerks are not an eX-
ceptional class. They belong to q great
company of tens of thousands who are in
this country amid circumstances which will
either make or break them for time and for
eternity. | should be very slow 10 acknowl-
edge that the clerks, male and female, of
other cities, are any more honest or faith
full than the clerks of our own city. Many
of those people have already achieved a
Christian manliness and a Christian wo-
nanliness which will be their passport TO
any position. have seen their trials. 1
have watched their perplexities. There
are evils abroad which need to be hunted
down, and dragged out into the MONDAY
light
In the first place I counsel clerks to re-
member that for the most part their clerk
ship is only a school from which they are to
be graduated. II takes about eight years TO
get one of the learned professions 1t
takes about eight years to get to be a mer-
chant. Some of you will be clerks all your
lives, but The vast majority of you are only
in transient position. After while,
some December day, the head men OF the
firm will call you into the buck Office, and
they will say 10 you; "Now, you have done
well by us; We are going to do we'll by you.
We invite you to have an interest in our
concern" You will bow to that edict very
gracefully. Getting into a street car to go
home, an old comrade will meet you and
say: "What makes you look so happy to-
nightP" "Oh," you will say, nothing,
nothing" But in few days your name
will blossom on the sign. Either in the
store or bank whore you are now, or in
some other store or bank, you will take a
higher position than that which you now
occupy. So | feel to-day that am stand
ing before people who will yet have their
hand on the helm of the worlds commerce
and you will turn it this wdy or that;
now clerks, but to be bankers, importers,
insurance company directors, shippers,
contractors, superintendents of railroads
your voice mighty "on hange"--standing
foremost in the great financial and religious
enterprises of the day. For, though we
who are in the profession may, on the
platform, plead for the philanthropies,
after all the merchants must come forth
with their millions to sustain the move
ment. Be. therefore, patient and diligent
in this transient position. You are now
where you can learn things you can never
learn in any other place. What you con-
slider vour disadvantages are vorr "rond
opportunity. You see an affiuent father
some day come down on prominent street
with his son who has just graduated from
the university, and establishing him in
business, putting 100000 in the store.
Well, you are envious. You say, "Oh, if I
only had chance like that young man-if
I only had father to put 100000 in a
business for me, then | would have some
chance in the world" Be not envious
You have advantages over that young man
which he has not over you. As we'll might
I come down to the docks when vessel is
about to sail for Valparaiso and say, "Let
me pilot this ship out Of the Narrows."
Why, would sink crew and cargo before
got out Of the halbor, simply because I
know nothing about piioiage. Wealthy
sea captains put their sons before the mast
for the reason that they know it is the only
place where they can learn to be successful
sailors. 1t is only under drill that people
get to understand pilotage and navigation,
and l want you to understand that it
takes no more skill to conduct a
vessel out of the harbor and across the sea
than to steer commercial establishment
clear of the rocks. You see every day the
folly of people going into business they
know nothing about. A man makes for
tune in one business, thinks there is
another occupation more comfortable, goes
into it and sinks all.
Many Of the commercial establishments
of our cities are giving TO their clerks q